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Social Contacts and Mixing Patterns Relevant to the Spread of Infectious Diseases

PLoS Medicine · 2008 · Vol. 5(3) · pp. e74–e74

Joël Mossong✉(Laboratoire National de Santé)Niel Hens(Hasselt University)Mark Jit(Public Health England)Philippe Beutels(University of Antwerp)Kari Auranen(Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland)Rafael Mikolajczyk(Bielefeld University)Marco Massari(Istituto Superiore di Sanità)Stefania Salmaso(Istituto Superiore di Sanità)Gianpaolo Scalia Tomba(University of Rome Tor Vergata)Jacco Wallinga(National Institute for Public Health and the Environment)Janneke C. M. Heijne(National Institute for Public Health and the Environment)Małgorzata Sadkowska-Todys(National Institute of Public Health)Magdalena Rosińska(National Institute of Public Health)W. John Edmunds(Public Health England)

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Abstract

To our knowledge, our study provides the first large-scale quantitative approach to contact patterns relevant for infections transmitted by the respiratory or close-contact route, and the results should lead to improved parameterisation of mathematical models used to design control strategies.

COVID-19 epidemiological studies Mathematical and Theoretical Epidemiology and Ecology Models Influenza Virus Research StudiesMixing patternsContact tracingPopulationDemographyPsychological interventionPandemicSocial contactInfectious disease (medical specialty)MedicineEnvironmental health

MeSH terms

AdolescentAdultAgedChildChild, PreschoolCross-Sectional StudiesEuropeFemaleHumansInfantMaleMiddle AgedModels, TheoreticalRespiratory Tract InfectionsSocial Support